Chapter 10

"Oh God, I don't think I can do this anymore, it hurts so much."

Oliver took her hand in his, giving it a light squeeze. "You can do it, sweetheart. Only a few more pushes, and you'll have a beautiful baby in your arms."

"He's right, Felicity, we just need two more. Can you do that?"

She gave the doctor a nod, letting in a deep breath before pushing with all the strength she possessed. She lay back in bed, never before feeling so tired. "How did my mother handle this?"

Oliver chuckled. "Knowing her she was probably unconscious the entire time."

That got a smile out of Felicity as she sat up, brushing the sweaty hair from her eyes. "One more, right? I can do this."

He returned her smile. "That's my girl." One more push and before he knew it, a loud cry filled the room. Oliver felt tears in his eyes when the baby was taken away to be cleaned off, he couldn't believe that he was a father.

The nurse came back over with a bundle in her arms, and a smile on her face. "Congratulations, you have a girl."

He had a daughter. It was the best feeling in the world, which was quickly replaced by the nurse settling the baby in Felicity's arms. Seeing the look of awe on her face was worth everything, they were a family now. "You've made me the happiest man in the world, you know that?"

She sniffled, glancing up at him. "What are we going to name her? We didn't really discuss that."

"It's completely up to you."

Felicity gave that some thought, gazing back at the gorgeous baby in her arms. "She looks like an Emily."

He agreed. "We have a winner."

"Oh, wow, that feels weird. It will definitely take some getting used to."

Oliver laughed, joining them on the bed. "I have to say, this may be the first time I've found breast feeding to be sexy."

Felicity raised her eyebrows. "And just who else have you seen doing this?"

He held his hands up in surrender. "No one, I swear, I've only seen it in movies."

She decided to change the subject. "It's a good thing the nursery is finished, but I think she should stay in our room for at least the first few weeks. It'll be hard to leave her for a while."

Oliver had no complaints, but there was still one thing they had yet to address. "I know you probably forgot with all the excitement and this may not be the best time to bring it up, but have you thought more about my proposal?"

Her eyes widened when she finally realized what he was referring to. "That was a real proposal? I just thought you were joking."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't normally carry around a diamond ring when I make jokes."

"Okay, but you didn't actually say the words. You promise this isn't just because I had your baby? We don't need to rush into anything."

Oliver shook his head, reaching into his drawer for the ring box and holding it out to her once again. "Felicity Smoak, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

She felt tears in her eyes, if there wasn't a sleeping baby in her arms, she would have jumped up and attacked him in a hug. Instead, all she could do was nod, but knew he probably needed more reassurance than that. "Yes, I'll marry you."

Oliver sighed in relief, placing the ring on her finger to find that it was a perfect fit. "We can have whatever wedding you want, any time you want. Like you said, we don't have to rush anything. I love you and Emily more than I ever thought I could love anything, this is it for me."

Felicity rubbed her eyes. "I love you, too."

"Which one do you prefer?" She was met by a blank stare from the baby in the stroller. "Agreed, the green one is better. You'll probably enjoy visits to the store more when you're actually old enough to make a decision. Come on, let's go find Daddy." Felicity paid for her purchases, heading outside only to make an abrupt stop. Oliver was chatting with Laurel in the parking lot and from the looks of things, it was a serious conversation. "See that woman over there, that's Daddy's old girlfriend, the one I thought for sure he would end up marrying. Let's just go see what they're talking about, shall we?" She pushed the stroller over to them, but Felicity could only make out the end of their exchange.

"I just don't know what to do."

Oliver was about to respond, his face lighting up at the sight of his fiancée and daughter heading in their direction. "I'm sorry, Laurel, just talk to Tommy. I don't know what else I can tell you."

Laurel nodded, noticing how his whole demeanor seemed to change. "Oh, hey, Felicity, is this Emily? She's adorable, I've been meaning to stop by to drop off a gift for her, but things have been pretty hectic."

She waved a dismissive hand in the air. "That's cool, Oliver practically bought out an entire baby store, we're covered."

"Right, I'll just see you guys later."

Felicity watched her walk away, turning back to Oliver. "What was that about?"

He shrugged. "Trouble in paradise, she got into a fight with Tommy and was really upset. She'll be fine. Did you find everything you were looking for?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it wasn't much since we mostly already have everything we need at home. I wasn't kidding about you buying out a baby store, we barely even have room for diapers."

"I just like to be prepared, most of that stuff was presents from my mom and Thea. I didn't notice anything from your mom, though. She hasn't even called to give me the third degree."

Felicity tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, getting Emily situated in her car seat. "There's a reason for that. She kind of doesn't know about the baby, or that I'm engaged to you. She doesn't even know that we're together."

"What? Are you ashamed of me or something?"

"Of course not, Oliver, you know it's not about you. It's about her, we've never had a very close mother/daughter relationship. You know what she's like, as soon as I was old enough to move out, that was it. I figured she didn't need to know what was going on every second of my life, and now she's living her life in Las Vegas as a showgirl, we have nothing in common. I will tell her, I just haven't gotten around to it yet," Felicity explained.

"The longer you wait, the harder it'll be," he commented.

She sighed. "I know, but can't I just wait until Emily is in school first?"

He shook his head. "I know you may deny it now, but you'll regret not having her at your wedding."

"You know if she was there, she would make it all about her. I wouldn't have a say in anything. I just want a quiet, simple ceremony. Besides, what if she hits on you again? I was nearly scarred for life the first time."

Oliver shuddered at that memory. "Yeah, we'll just make sure not to have any alcohol on hand."

"Fine, but if this becomes a disaster, you only have yourself to blame."

He smiled. "I will take full responsibility." The ride back to the house was made in silent contemplation.